Maidens of the Realms
by MalibuXinXtheXsunshineXX
Summary: Dawn,May,Leaf,and Misty are priestesses.They have a duty to protect humans,and each other,from Demons.Then there's:Paul,Drew,Gary,and Ash are demons.They are intent on eating the four girls and gaining their power. Not if the girls kill them first, right?
1. A Storm Is Brewing

_**Malibu: OMG! I'm SOOOO EXCITED! Hi Everyone, It's me! Malibu! This is my second story, Maidens Of the Realms. I'm not a big fan of the title - it was kind of a last-minute thing...- but I'm super excited for the story line! Anyway, I'd like to Introduce some of my newest friends. They'll be helping me Introduce my story! It's Eve (short for Evangeline). Say Hi Eve! **_

**_Eve: Hi!_**

**_Malibu: And It's Jamie! Say Hi Jamie!_**

**_Jamie: Sup._**

**_Malibu: Eve is a Vampire Slayer. (She's actually 1/4 Vampire...ohhhh!) And Jamie is her best friend. He's a Vampire. A full one. _**

**_Jamie: Whoo._**

**_Eve: Didn't I kill you? _**

**_Jamie: You did. But I'm back! *flashing Fangs*_**

**_Malibu: You did kill him, Eve. You did. But I used my SUPER AUTHOR POWERS (this one's for you, Waveripple!) and brought him BACK! MWHAHAHAHAH! *Throws head back and laughs evilly!* _**

**_Jamie: Should we be afraid of her?_**

**_Eve: *nods* yes, yes we should._**

**_Malibu: Now, my cute little characters, do the disclaimer! _**

**_Eve and Jamie: MalibuXinXtheXsunshineXX does NOT own POKEMON! She only owns the idea she came up with in her own little brain! _**

**_Malibu: Now on with chapter one! A Storm is Brewing! _**

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter One: A Storm is Brewing. _

_Two lizards snuck around the forest. _They were low to the ground, blending in with the grass high over their heads. Their beady red eyes shifted left to right, left to right, trying to see their next prey. They were deep in conversation.

"Do you think we're going to find _anything_ even _slightly_ tasty out here?" One of the lizards complained. He was deep green in color.

"You never know _what_ comes running into the forest."

"If I have to eat another bunny, I'm going to kill myself."

"You won't _have_ to eat another bunny," The other lizard, this one brown in color, snapped back. He was the color of dead leaves.

"Are you sure? Because I don't see anything better running into our paths. Hell, I don't even see a bunny!"

"Oh, stop complaining!" the brown one rolled its blood-red eyes, "We'll find something."

"I'm sick of animal meat! I want something–" The green one was cut off by a scent blowing through the air. A scent of something human.

Human and delicious.

"See!" The brown one licked his lips in anticipation, "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"You were right today, brother." The green one agreed, "Now let's go get some food."

The picked up their pace, their noses trying to sniff up all the delicious scent they could.

They came up on four girls with their backs turned toward the lizards. Perfect.

"I call the redhead and the blue-haired one." The green lizard whispered.

"I'll take the brunettes," The brown lizard said, licking his lips, "This will be plenty for tonight."

"Such a pretty dinner." The green lizard started approaching the girls, who were all talking to each other, distracted. "Prettier than we've had in a long time."

The brown one agreed. They approached closer.

Suddenly, one of the brunettes turned around. She had bright, sapphire-colored eyes. Her eyes zeroed in on the lizards. The wind shifted, a new scent coming off of the girls. The brunette raised her hand at the lizards.

"Oh, no!" The brown one screeched, "I know that scent. I know that ring! RETREAT! QUICKLY! RETREAT!"

The lizards tried to take off but suddenly a wall rose out from the ground and blocked their path.

The other brunette had turned around. Her eyes were a bright, fierce, fiery emerald green. The sapphire-eyed brunette spread out her fingers. The lizards were suddenly on fire.

They burned to death.

Once they were dead, burnt crisps, a huge hole opened up in the ground and the burnt lizards fell in. The hole closed up, and the brunettes slapped high fives and turned back to their friends.

The four girls laughed and shook their heads. If you listened closely, you could hear one word being passed around.

"Demons."

* * *

**Dawn's POV:**

I was in a bad mood. So, naturally, it was excessively windy outside. I had woken up that morning sweating – which I hated doing – and I couldn't remember what I had been dreaming out. Not only that, but there was a hair on my head sticking up that I couldn't seem to get to stay down today. I had tried everything to get that damn little hair to stay _FLAT_, but it just kept jetting up. I let out a long, sharp breath and the papers of all the kid's desks in front of me flew up and sank back down, scattering everywhere.

Mrs. Huckleberry seemed to sense my horrible mood and was not calling on me. Thank God, I didn't know the answers anyway.

There was only one person who didn't know that I was in a horrible mood. And that was the girl who sat next to me in, like, five classes. Leah, a pretty girl with bright red curls and a huge smile who couldn't stand staying silent, was yammering on and on about her weekend, with her boyfriend, Tyler.

The only thing the story was doing for me was reminding me how much I needed a boyfriend. I rested my chin on the palm of my hand, crossing my fingers over my mouth so I didn't yell at her. Ty, the love of Leah's life, was a really nice guy and one of my close friends. But right now, if I heard another word about him, I would seriously break.

"He's just the _sweetest_ thing." She sighed. And I hoped desperately she was done talking.

"That's great." I told her, trying my hardest to smile.

"I know." She sunk back in her seat, looking dreamily out the window. A sharp gust of wind blew the nearest tree branch into the window, making a horrid sound.

Everyone jumped back, scared.

"Oh, calm down everyone," Mrs. Huckleberry cried, "It's just the wind!"

"Wow that was scary!" Leah said, "I've never heard wind make that… _chilling_ a noise!" Leah shivered.

I touched the ring on the ring finger of my right hand, twisting it around. She was right. Wind didn't make that sound normally. The weather was changing. It was changing so quickly and violently that the storm clouds were practically racing each other to get here first. Something was wrong. Because that gust of wind wasn't me.

Something ominous was going on. My bad mood spiraled into a feeling of doom. It had been like this ever since my sixteenth birthday, just weeks before, when hunting season went up. My best friends, May Maple, Leaf Green, and Misty Waterflower, shared a look with me. We nodded.

Demons – strong ones, too, by the looks of that storm – were on their way.

* * *

**Third Person POV:**

One boy, with dark, raven-colored hair, glowing blue eyes, and large, black wings sprouting out of his back with feathers falling out by the dozens; beat his large wings another time. The large, black cloud he was floating over moved a few more miles.

The boy next to him, a boy with short, spikey auburn hair, chocolate colored eyes, dog-like ears sticking out of his head, and five tails, stood on his cloud, running along with the bird-boy.

The third boy stood tall with dark purple hair that hung to his shoulders and over his menacing onyx eyes and fangs protruding out onto his lips. If he opened his mouth, you would be able to see a forked tongue that he stuck out only rarely for a sense of direction. He had his arms crossed over his body, and he looked bored. His storm cloud zipped along, without him even trying.

The last boy had bright green hair, and green eyes. He had a smirk on his face, which was fairly good looking, and long, pointed ears. Sharp fangs and claws like talons glinted in the sunlight. He watched the first two boys' race and, quietly so they wouldn't notice, was trying to beat them. So far, he was winning.

"So, why are we traveling towards that marvelous scent?" The green haired boy asked the purple haired one. The purple haired boy just smirked to himself.

"That scent…that scent means that they're sixteen. Nice and ripe for the picking."

"Mm, I haven't had a good meal in _ages_!" The raven-haired one rubbed his stomach.

"You just ate a good, big meal _yesterday_!" The auburn haired one pointed out. His tails twitched.

"Exactly." The raven-haired one look at the auburn haired one like he was insane, "Ages."

"He's always hungry." The purple haired one scowled. "Can we get back to the matter? They're going to know we're what we are. So, do we battle right off, or divide and each go for one of our own?"

"Oh, stop planning!" The auburn haired one shook his head, "I just hope they're pretty. I like a pretty dinner."

"So we're paying with them before we eat them!" The green haired one's eyes glinted. He looked quite happy with that idea.

"Why not?" The purple haired one smirked, "Sounds like fun."

The raven-haired one smiled a bright, cheery smile that looked wrong on his daunting face. "I _do_ like playing with my food."

* * *

**Dawn's POV:**

I couldn't stop twitching. It got this way, sometimes, when some really big thing was coming. Misty Waterflower, a tall, serious, obnoxiously orange-haired girl with elegant jade green eyes and a passion for sports and anything athletic, was trying to calm me, but nothing was working. May Maple, a funny, loud girl with short, brown hair, bright sapphire eyes, and a snub nose, felt nauseous. She sat on the floor by my feet, holding her head between her legs.

"They're strong." She whispered, grunting while holding her stomach, "Really strong."

We sat in the school courtyard, away for the larger population of the school.

"I brought lunch!" Leaf Green, a short, cunning, quiet girl with a big heart came strolling in. She had long brown hair that fell to her waist, and huge, luminescent emerald green eyes that had a certain fire to them. Leaf carried a tray, filled with all our usual lunch orders. I smiled at her. Leaf was too nice.

"Thank you!" I took my salad from her, happy with her choice in dressing. She even got two packets! I like a lot of things in the extremes; music, blasted at full volume, showers, extreme in temperature and length, and salad dressing, extreme in amount.

"No problem!" Leaf replied. She sat down daintily on a large piece of earth, shaped just like a stool. May, unlike her usual 'take-all-food-and-scarf-it-down' way, refused her food. She took the water bottle Leaf got, though, and sipped tentatively out of it.

Misty looked up at the sky, watching the storm clouds race. **(A/N: Ha-ha, it's funny because the clouds are seriously racing. LAUGH AND YOU GET COOKIES!)** The clouds were above us now, promising rain and making the sky look dark and dreary. They blocked the sun. They made me nervous, those storm clouds. I didn't like the way they stirred the wind. A storm was brewing.

"Demons are here." Misty whispered, her voice remarkably steady, "They're here for _us_."

* * *

_**Malibu: YAYAYAY! THAT WAS TONS OF FUN! Anyways, I would like to see who can guess what animals the guys are modeled after. Except for Drew. Because I couldn't think of an animal that suits Drew's personality. Super Cookies for anyone who guesses RIGHT ON - and also provides an animal that he/she thinks would best suit Drew's personality! - and regular cookies for anyone who A: Reviews, or B: tells me what animal Drew should be modeled after. **_

**_Also, I gave the girls powers. If you can guess what element their powers are based off of (this should be really easy) then you get a SUPER COOKIE! So, DOUBLE SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME COOKIES for anyone that does BOTH the girls AND the boys! _**

**_THank you all so much for reading! Don't forget to REVIEW! Thank you! _**

**_Love always,_**

**_Malibu :D_**


	2. Rising to the Challenge

**Hey guys! It's me, Malibu! Back from the dead on this story! YAY! So I'm going to try (empashis on the TRY part) to update every Wednesday on this story. I have it kind of sort of planned out (very, very roughly) so let's see where it takes me! Anyway, please enjoy Chapter Two! Review! Reviews make me smile! And smiling makes me happy! And Happy Authors don't kill off everyone! YAY! **

**Okay. I love ALL MY REVIEWERS, and I think I promised supercookies...so, I'm gonna pass those out now...  
COOKIES FOR: Everyone who reviewed!  
SUPER COOKIES FOR: ****  
DOUBLE SUPER SPECAIL AWESOME AMAZING COOKIES FOR: DemigodWitch96 who totally and utterly got everything right! **

**NOW IT'S TIME FOR CHAPTER TWO: Rising to the Challenge! PLEASE ENJOY!**

**(OH! SIDE NOTE: If anyone has any ideas for Prom Songs (slow or fast) please put them in your review! It's for one of my other stories (Season Of Love) that I'm trying to compile a big list of songs for. And, if you want your song to go with a specific couple (Dawn/Paul, Leaf/Gary, Misty/Ash, May/Drew) please tell me! And any ideas or things you want to happen in this story (or any others) would be MUCH APRRICATED!)**

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Two: Rising to the Challenge_

**May's POV:**

_New boys_. The rumor had buzzed around the school three times and back again. New boys, new boys, new boys the whole school seemed to be chanting. Some chatty girls said they were hot new boys.

I knew better. They were hot, new, demon boys.

And demons really aren't that great once you get to know them. You know, they kind of eat you.

And, personally, I don't like being eaten. Being a priestess, I especially don't like being eaten. Because, if I am consumed, the demon gains more strength than ever before. And that would not be good for mankind.

Poor mankind, not having a clue about the dangers that lurk in every alleyway. We priestesses, with our keen senses, we sure know it, though. And it's our duty to protect poor, oblivious mankind with our powers.

The hot, new, demon boys walked into homeroom. I was leaning over my desk to talk to May, and the whole world just stopped.

Because, for once, the rumor mill spit out something true. The new demons were hot.

One with purple hair, one with green, one with brown, and one with black. They stood at varying heights, all over six feet. The green haired one caught my attention.

_Hell-o, demon boy. _I looked at Dawn, who was staring at purple-haired boy. She glanced at me, raising her eyebrows.

They clean up nice.

My ring, though, started to burn my finger. I shoved my hand under my leg so the demon boys wouldn't notice it.

It was kind of a last-ditch effort, considering the only reason they were here was to eat us…they already knew I was a priestess.

But still, hiding the burning ring just felt…right.

"Introduce yourselves." Miss Fantina panted. She, too, was drooling over the new boys. And she was supposed to be the teacher here!

The green-haired one took control instantly. "Hello," His voice was musical, appealing to the human ear but repulsing to mine. But, it was still a little nice to listen too – even to my ear.

Yes, these were powerful demons.

"I'm Drew Hayden." The green-haired one continued. He didn't seem to notice he had every singe female in the class hanging on his every word, "And this is Gary Oak." He pointed to the auburn haired one, "And Paul Shinji," He gestured to the purple haired one, "And Ash Ketchum." The raven haired one smiled cheerfully.

It looked wrong on a demon.

The boys nodded and smiled and teetered. Miss Fantina told them to take any seat they liked – the pushover.

Drew Hayden went directly for the seat behind me. Paul stalked Dawn, Gary's eyes caught Leaf and immediately went to her, and Ash grinned at Misty – who grimaced in return – and went to go find a seat near here.

This was going to be a long year.

While he walked by, I whiffed his disgusting demon scent, and it was all I could do not to set fire to him right then and there.

My ring was going to burn a hole in my leg.

Drew smiled at me, a mockingly sincere, almost taunting smile.

I glared him down.

He smirked, flipped his hair, and sat down behind me.

I wanted to die. Or scream. Or set fire to something. But it's not like I could do that right there, in the middle of the classroom. Sure, humans see what they want to see, but attacking a demon with fire would not go over well in their minds. It would be better if I just…didn't.

"Hey," The demon's breath slithered over my neck. I shivered and glanced back at him. He was leaning over his desk, smiling at me.

"Go. Away." I answered, pulling away from him. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Aww, the pretty priestess is so big and tough? I was just going to ask for a pencil, but whatever." The demon smirked and leaned back in his chair, "I didn't know the _guardians of goodness _could be so mean."

He was mocking me. He was mocking me. He was mocking me and my ring was burning a hole in my thigh.

I chose to ignore him. And to kill him after school. Do or die, my friends. Do or die.

I hoped my friends were having better luck.

* * *

**Third Person POV:**

The purple haired demon, Paul, sat in the seat next to Dawn. She tried not to breath in his ugly, rotting stench, but was having no luck.

It smelled like something died.

It smelled disgusting.

Dawn leaned as far away as possible from him. The demon looked over at her and scowled. Dawn glared back.

"Troublesome." The demon muttered, turning his head away from her. Dawn wanted to hit him. Instead, she placed her ringed hand on the side of the desk, in plain view of all the demons in the room.

It was burning into her skin; she wanted to kill him so badly.

But she couldn't, because she was in school. She settled for a glaring contest. Every once in a while, Paul would look up from her ring – which didn't bother him one bit – to her face, and then Dawn would meet his gaze and stare back.

To show she wasn't afraid.

She could take on any demon.

Dawn had a problem with taking on things that were too big for her. She didn't know her boundaries. Paul Shinji, snake demon, was definitely outside of her solitary boundaries, but she didn't care.

She rose to the challenge.

Air wasn't the easiest element to work with. Yes, it was nice for suffocation and escapes, but direct attacks? Not so much. And Paul Shinji had definitely killed priestesses stronger than Dawn.

And yet Dawn decided that _she_ was going to be the one to kill Paul Shinji. She decided it when he looked at her and scoffed. Laughed at her, like he didn't take her seriously. Dawn liked being taken seriously.

Paul Shinji had just met his match.

* * *

Misty cutely blinked twice at Jonah and tried to act cute. She'd been subtly – or not so subtly – dropping hints for the past wink. Jonah had caught up on them right away. She knew he was going to ask her out.

She knew it.

He _had_ to.

"Can I sit here?" The demon dropped his books in between Jonah and Misty. The raven-haired one.

The one that smelled like bird, and wore that black feather pennant around his neck, as if he wanted to show off his flashy demon bird-ness.

As if he had a reason to sit between them.

There was one desk between Misty and Jonah. They had been trying to get Miss Fantina to let Jonah move over for months. But she wouldn't budge. And now the demon got to sit right next to Misty.

Misty's blood curdled.

"Hi there!" He smiled at both of them – Jonah and Misty. The demon had an unusually cheery demeanor. Most demons were cocky, arrogant or melancholy or just plain rude. This one, this demon, he…he was _happy_.

Jonah said hi – much to Misty's distress.

Misty ignored him.

"I'm Ash!" The boy repeated.

Misty ignored him. She hoped Jonah enveloped him in conversation.

When the bell rang, Misty stood over the demon's desk. She had seen the hungry glint in the demon's eyes when he looked at Jonah. She stopped the demon from leaving, but signaled to Jonah to wait for her outside.

"Stay away from him." She warned, "If I find you even _touch_ him, you won't live another day."

Then Misty smiled and left.

* * *

At the end of the day, Leaf had seen the auburn haired demon gaze hungrily at ten girls, _at least_.

She would stop him before he could eat any of them, she promised herself.

Leaf saw the way he looked hungrily at _her_. She didn't like _that_ either. He was a fox demon, she could tell that. Fox demons were tricky. You had to be careful when you killed them. You had to make sure that they were really dead.

Because their magic could twist your senses.

Magic. That was the worst part of fox demons. They were the only demons with the ability to use magic. It made them extremely hard to kill.

But Leaf was up to the challenge. Especially after she saw him eyeing Marina, a pretty girl that was Leaf's friend.

That really ticked her off.

She would make sure that the demon had no more girls – _ever_.

* * *

Ash was kind of getting obsessed with Misty. Three days later, and no one had made any move to kill anyone.

Ash was kind of falling for Misty.

She ignored him.

She flirted with that one guy. The Jonah guy. That pissed Ash off. He _hated_ the Jonah guy. He hated the way he had her attention. The way he had her _love._

Ash – for some weird reason – wanted the priestess's love. More than anything. He knew her threat – about him eating Jonah.

But it was kind of empty.

Because if he at Jonah, no one would know it was him. Not even Misty. Ash was a clean eater. No tracks, no trails, nothing.

He fingered the feather pennant around his neck.

His mind drifted – as it so often did – to his childhood.

_Misty. _He thought, dropping the pennant back against his chest, _you will be mine. _

* * *

Ash waited too long. The very next day, as if Jonah knew that Ash was going to try and break the bet and go for Misty – not as meal, though she would be very appealing that way, too – but as a person. As a potential girlfriend. Whatever the reason, Jonah asked Misty out the very next day.

Right in front of Ash.

"Hey, Misty." Jonah stopped Misty on her way out of homeroom, "I've got a question."

Ash felt queasy.

"Yeah, what's up?" Misty's face broke out into a huge smile. This was the day she had been waiting for. He was going to ask her out! Finally.

Ash wanted to punch him. Ash wanted to _eat_ him, and it wasn't just because he was a tasty human.

"I was wondering what you were doing…tomorrow night?"

"Nothing, why?" Misty's smile couldn't get bigger. Ash wanted to be the reason behind that smile.

"We should go out, and get pizza and catch a movie or something." Jonah ran his hand through his hair like he was the coolest guy on the face of the planet.

Ash felt rage. Nothing but rage.

"I'd love to!" Misty cried. She hugged him. Jonah and Misty walked to their next class hand in hand.

On her way out the door, Misty shot as a very dirty look.

That only made him want her more.

* * *

**YAY! End of Chapter Two! That was fun. **

**So, will Ash get Misty? What about Jonah? What about Misty's threat? Hmmm...very good questions. Except all that (and more) to be answered in Chapter Three! But you have to review ;D**

**Love forever and always,**

**Malibu :D**


	3. A Date with a Demon

**Hey Guys! Malibu here! With the promised Chapter Three of Maidens of the Realms! Get it? Because it's two days late? Yeah...I was REALLY busy on Wednesday and Thursday. I was putting on THE LARAMIE PROJECT at my school. It's a really cool play, I personally think. Anywho, here it is! Chapter Three! A Date with a Demon! **

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Three: A Date with a Demon_

Misty must have spent at least five hours getting ready. Dawn stopped in twice to make sure that Misty's outfit was appropriate for her date.

"I can't believe Jonah asked you out!" Dawn squealed as she shifted through Misty's closet.

"I know, right?" Misty smiled as she applied her eyeliner. "I'm so excited! It's not like I've been waiting for this since… _forever_."

Dawn made Misty twirl so she could get the full view of her outfit. "Well, you look adorable. Just be safe, okay? You've got everything you need?"

Misty nodded.

Her thoughts drifted to Ash, and his hungry gaze at Jonah. She would protect Jonah with her life.

"I should probably get going." Misty finally said. "We're meeting each other there. I'll see you later." Misty hugged Dawn quickly, and said her goodbyes.

May told her to have fun, but not _too _much fun.

Leaf told her to be safe. Watch her back. Be careful. But, overall, give Jonah a big kiss for her.

That earned Leaf a slap.

Misty started walking. She was big on that kind of thing. Walking. Environment. And she was hoping for an excuse to have Jonah drive her home.

* * *

Jonah left for the diner a little after seven. He never made it. It was getting dark. He was the only car on the road. He would be there in less than five minutes.

And then something violently hit his car.

Confused but not hurt, Jonah opened his door to check out what he had hit. Two seconds later, Jonah was lying on the street with blood filling his mouth.

The last thing Jonah saw was sharp blue eyes and a beak. Black feathers fell like snow.

"That's what you get." The voice squawked over Jonah's almost lifeless body, "For trying to get my girl."

* * *

Misty had been waiting at least an half an hour. Her self-pride was going down the drain.

_If he wanted to make fun of me, he would have just done it, right?_

_Why won't he pick up his phone?_

_What if something happened to him?_

_What if nothing happened to him, and he just forgot._

_What if…something came up?_

_And he didn't have the chance to call me? That's ridiculous. This is stupid. I should go._

_What if he's just running late, though? And he shows up? _Then_ what? _

_Then he should have shown up earlier. _

_Maybe he thought he said eight, but he really said seven? Maybe he did say eight._

Misty convinced herself that Jonah has said eight. She petted her jean skirt and decided that she would wait till eight – no later.

Half an hour later, Misty was scowling. It was eight. And nothing. It was later than eight. It was eight ten! Where the hell was he?

She got up to go when a figure approached her table.

"Anyone sitting here?" The voice asked.

Misty jumped in revolt. The demon smell just touched her nose. She was about to throw a water dagger at him, when he sat down.

The demon smiled at her. "How are you?"

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, "I have a date. And I'm not afraid to _kill _you!"

"In front of all these people?" The demon laughed, "Sure. Go right ahead."

Something in his eyes made Misty smile. "I guess you're right…"

"Even if you did try and kill me," The demon's huge grin faded just a bit. He looked directly in her eyes and tried to act serious, "I'd let you."

The sentence lingered in the air for a moment.

"_Why_?" Misty asked, "Why would you _let_ me?"

"Because I wouldn't want to hurt _you_." He said. Raw, honest, put it right out there. Misty couldn't help but believe him.

Which was very, very wrong.

She couldn't let herself do that. Trust a demon.

But everything about him screamed 'TRUST ME!' Misty wanted to. She _wanted _to trust him.

And that scared her.

Yet, she sat there, never even hoping Jonah would show up, and had a date with a demon.

That was laughable.

A date with a _demon_? A priestess and a demon on a date.

But she had fun.

_That_ was the scary part.

* * *

May decided she was going to kill him. The demon. The smirk-y, annoying, rude demon. He wasn't going to see another day.

She attacked him after school.

He was walking, alone, to his car. Demons should never walk alone. No one was around. It was just her and him. Him and her. The demon and the priestess.

Do or die.

Right as she thought that, a fiery ring sprung up around the demon. The fire encircled him, closing in and spreading as the grass caught.

The demon didn't even look panicked. Scaly wings sprouted from his back and he was in the air. Far away from the fire which was quickly spreading.

Fire always had been impossible to control.

"Damn it!" May yelled, ceasing the fire quickly. The burnt grass was taunting her.

The demon was taunting her, laughing at her.

Before May could thing about things rationally, she charged the demon. No plan in mind. Nothing. Just _charge_.

The fire she tried to start on the demon blew out instantly, but the sparks caught onto the already brunt grass and quickly caught fire.

May didn't notice. She kept charging at the demon. He saw her coming, and when she leaped at him, he pushed her back, hard.

Into the roaring flames.

It was hot. Very hot. _Too_ hot.

She had conked her head on the hard, fiery ground. There was blood, she was sure of it.

The fire started to lick at May's skin. She tried to stop it. She tried to stop the fire, but nothing was working. Her hands wouldn't move. Her mind couldn't concentrate.

She screamed.

Fire was never meant to be controlled.

She didn't think she would die like this. This hot, burning way.

Darkness and blackness and heat were the last things May remembered.

* * *

She heard sirens. Were there sirens in heaven? Were there sirens in hell? Was she dead? Did she somehow live?

No. Not dead. May decided as the sirens got louder and louder and then faded. She was uncomfortable. Death was supposed to be comfortable, right?

Alive.

"Is she coming around?' A voice familiar to May asked another person.

"Yeah, she is. She'll be up soon. I'm just glad she's waking up. With that concussion of hers, I was sure she'd go into a coma."

There was silence.

May tried to place the voice. She couldn't think straight. A beeping noise replaced the siren. _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._ The constant beeping was almost a comfort. She tried to focus on the beeping as she tried to place the voice.

"Come on, Airhead." The voice cooed. A scent went along with the voice. May scrunched her nose. "Wake up."

But the scent was what she needed to be brought to her senses.

May blinked slowly, trying to really visualize his face. "Drew?" She asked, not sure if it was really him.

"Yeah, Airhead?" He responded.

So it _was_ him.

"Am I going to be okay?" She bit her lip, worried about the extent of her injuries. Her head still hurt, pretty badly, too. She sat up, and looked around. The hospital. How did she get there?

"Yeah, you're going to be fine."

"Did you bring me here?"

There was hesitation. "Uhm…yes." Drew finally answered, sounding firm, "Yes I did."

"And you didn't kill me?" May sounded shocked, even to herself. She had meant to sound cool, collected.

"No. Obviously not. I don't think I'd be in your heaven, Airhead."

May decided to ignore his comment. "But…why?" She wanted to know. If the roles were reversed, Drew would not have made it to the hospital. He would be incinerated.

There was no answer.

May wasn't sure she wanted to hear it, if there was one.

"Listen, Drew." May smiled, sitting up in her bed, "When I'm better, you really are going to die."

Drew laughed. "I am fully looking forward to that day."

* * *

**OKAY YAY! That was super fun, don't you think? Look forward to Chapter Four (hopefully) next Wednesday! And check out The Five Rules of Being Psychic (to be updated tomorrow!) Don't forget to review! **

**Love forever and always,**

**Malibu :D**


	4. The Game Begins

**Hey Guys! It's me, Malibu. I'm reallly good at being on time...not. At least I'm just ONE DAY late today, Instead of two...or months. Anywho, I've kind of got this story planned out. It's probs going to be, like, ten chapters long. I like that lenght. It's short, and crisp, but you can still tell a good story. **

**Okay. I hope you guys enjoy Chapter Four: The Game Begins! Remember to Read and Review (even if it is just to say hi) and check out my other stories: The Five Rules of Being Psychic (to be updated on Saturday) and Transformed Love (to be updated short of never, so don't get too attached...I'm kind of at a stalemate.) Any constructive (Did I spell that right?) critism or happy comments or things you would like to see happen are VERY, VERY, VVEERRRRRYYYYY a****ppreciated! So, review. Just do it. All your friends are doing it. **

**ENJOY CHAPTER FOUR: THE GAME BEGINS! **

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Four: The Game Begins_

It was supposed to be a secret. Their relationship. Misty didn't want her friends to know about it. Ash didn't want his friends to know about it.

In all truth, they didn't want _each other_ to know about it.

Misty wasn't sure what exactly it was, their relationship. She liked him. She knew that.

And it was wrong. She shouldn't like him. She should hate him. She should have killed him when she had the chance.

But she didn't. And now…and now…who knows what Misty had gotten herself into this time.

The only thing she knew? She _liked_ it.

...

Three secret meetings (dates? Get-togethers? Misty wasn't sure what to call them) later, and Misty was sure she wouldn't be able to kill him. She didn't want to. She just…couldn't imagine life without him.

Misty didn't tell anyone when she went out. She said she had to run groceries or other silly errands. She never did, of course. She snuck out and went out with Ash. They held hands and walked down the beach. They ate dinner at the diner. They did all the cutesy, couple-y things, but if they were asked if they were going out, both would have denied it.

Thank goodness they weren't.

Misty was on cloud nine – well, almost. Something in the back of her mind kept her from being completely happy with Ash. Something that kept reminding her that he was demon. And priestesses killed demons.

Only, she couldn't kill him. She didn't know what she'd do with herself, if he was gone.

* * *

May wasn't watching. She wasn't watching her back. Her concussion was better. It was healed, and the staples were gone from her head. She was fine. When she was asked what happened, she said she fell backward down some stairs. It was believable enough. She was a klutz.

Only Drew knew the truth.

And he hadn't told anyone, yet, so May was sure her secret was safe.

May was walking home from school. The usual thing, it was Wednesday. Misty had swim team, Dawn was doing lord-knows-what, and Leaf was out looking for demons.

May walked home every Wednesday. She hadn't for a while, because of her head and her burns, but, being a priestess, she healed fast and now was back on the daily schedule.

Her ring alerted her first. The ring that gave away demons before May could even sense them herself. It started burning, causing May discomfit but no real pain.

The smell followed. Demon, demon, _demon_! May's senses kicked into hyper drive.

She turned around right in time to be tackled by a green haired demon.

She kicked, sending him flying backward. She rubbed her head, making sure it was still fine.

"Jerk!" May rolled her eyes as she pulled out a fan – an item she had recently obtained that was great for spreading fire – and looked around. "Where are you know, demon?" She called, "Come on out!"

Two seconds later, May was in the air, held by a cackling green haired, winged demon with a scaly long tail.

Not thinking of her own safety, May lashed out at the demon with the fan.

He dropped her, howling in pain.

"Drew!" May screamed as she fell, fast-paced, toward the ground, "Drew! _DREW_!"

Inches before her doom, May was back in the scaly arms of the demon. Breaking hard, May kicked lightly – not so to startle him and send herself back to the ground – at his shin. "Oh my Mew. You _jerk_! You freaking _scared_ me! _Don't_ do that again!"

"And the game begins." Drew laughed as he dropped her once again.

* * *

Leaf had started out not really sure _what_ she was hunting, but she knew it when she saw it.

Or him, to be exact.

That fox demon. Gary.

He was leading some pretty girl into the darker parts of the forest that surrounded the town. Deeper, darker, deeper, darker.

The girl followed with an almost trance-like obedience.

Leaf watched, slowly, and tried to place the girl. Marina! It hit her like a ton of bricks. Marian from Biology! Leaf didn't know Marina very well, but she was a nice girl. Pretty, too. She modeled a lot, Leaf knew. And she had a boyfriend and a large group of friends and she did a lot of volunteer work and things of that nature.

And the demon was just going to take that from her. Her whole life.

This was why Leaf hated demons.

The thing Leaf didn't understand was how the demon had gotten Marina to follow him like a doting puppy. She had a boyfriend, for one thing, and for another Marina wasn't that kind of girl.

And then the demon stopped leading Marina. He turned around and grabbed her shoulders. Marina didn't move. The demon eased Marina's perfect blue hair off her shoulder, and then bit her. The demon bit Marina, right in the neck. Like he was a vampire, or something.

And Leaf knew. The demon, Gary Oak, was using magic. The demon was using magic to get girls.

_Rage_. Absolute, utter rage filled Leaf. She _hated_ the demon right then. She wanted nothing more than to see him as a pile of ashes. Or, better yet, never see him ever again, dead or alive. She raised her hand to attack him, to end him once and for all, but nothing happened.

A larger demon – a wolf demon, with red eyes and nine tails – pounced on Leaf, distracting her for the moment.

Throwing the demon back with a large bolder, Leaf looked to where the demon and Marina had been. They were gone.

_Damn it! _Leaf cursed, "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" She quickly annihilated the cat demon, and cursed some more.

Now, Leaf was intent on killing Gary Oak.

* * *

Misty wasn't sure if she should tell her friends about Ash.

About how she thought she might possibly be falling in love with a demon.

She was sick of sneaking around, but she didn't know how she could tell them. How they were going to react.

They would tell her to break it off, that was for sure. They would tell her to kill them. They were all trying to kill the other demons.

But she couldn't do that. She didn't want to do that.

How was she supposed to tell her friends _that_?

* * *

"Mmmm, I smell priestesses." A tall, dark figure with black finger nails, black wings, sharp, black teeth and yellow eyes licked its lips. "Just a few more to add to my collection." The figure turned its head to look back at the rows and rows of bound and gagged girls. Some were knocked out; other looked around with fear shining in their eyes.

"Lucifer!" The figure looked at a toad-like little man, who trembled at the sound of his own name.

"Yes, master?" The small demon whimpered.

"Let's find these girls…they'll see they have bigger trouble coming their way."

* * *

**YAYAYAYAYAY! End of Chapter Four: The Game Begins! I hope you lliiiikkkeed it. You know what I liiiiikkkkkeeeee? Reviews. So, please make some time to do so! I LOVE YOU GUYS! Uhm, yeah. Sooo, yeah. Okay. Great. PLEASE REVIEW! And check out my other stories! And REVIEW! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! THanks a bunch! I love you guys! **

**Love forever and always,**

**Malibu :D**


	5. Under Your Spell

**OH HEY GUYS. So, I'm, like, a week and a day late. But that's okay. Because you guys love me no matter what, right? (Of course you do!) Anyway, I don't have much to say. The usual: check out my other stories and polls, and make sure to reivew. So do all that and make one happy Malibu! **

**Here it is! Chapter Five: Under Your Spell**

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Five: Under Your Spell_

He fingered the necklace around his neck. The pendant of the black feather.

Misty watched as Ash's strong fingers pulled the chain over his head and handed it to her.

"Here." He smiled, "For you."

Misty loved it, of course. She put it on right away. Admiring it, she asked, "What, exactly, _is_ it?"

"It's a special pendant particular to the Raven Clan. It will protect you from other demons and claim you as mine." His goofy grin faded and he looked at her, only at her. Misty suddenly felt a little bit self conscious, which was unusual for her. "Don't ever take it off."

Misty looked up from the necklace at him. She didn't like the look he gave her, but she nodded anyway.

"I won't." She swore, dropping the necklace so it hit against her chest, "I swear."

* * *

Paul didn't know how it began. One minute he was annoyed and the next he was obsessed. How did that kind of thing happen?

But one minute, he was plotting ways to get the ignorant, annoying priestess for dinner so he would never have to hear from her again, and then the next he was _following_ her.

It was no wonder demons had a bad reputation. Paul was _stalking_ Dawn. And she was hunting.

Demons.

The stalking was new. It was a first for him. Before, he had just been thinking about her a lot. More than a demon usually thought about his prey. Every once in a while he would smell something – sickly sweet – and think of her. Or hear someone's laugh, or glance at someone briefly, and all he would see was her.

Dawn. Stupid, damn priestess clouding up his mind. He wondered if maybe she was using her powers on him, _making_ him think only of her. But Paul didn't believe the stupid girl was that powerful.

It was him. _He_ was thinking of her.

And then this happened. The stalking, with no intention of eating. He was just following her, watching her, being as creepy as only a demon could be.

He hated himself, right then. He hated himself so much. What was he _doing_? Following a priestess while she hunted for other demons? And not planning to do anything about it? He was Paul Shinji, proud, vicious, merciless leader of the Snake Demon clan, and he was letting a priestess – a _priestess_, whose flesh would make him the most powerful demon in the world – roam around free and uneaten.

His venomous fangs protruded onto his lips. Paul rubbed his hand over his face and quickly changed personas. He was Paul Shinji, merciless killer of all things human. He was going to have Dawn for lunch.

But then she screamed.

Paul quickly snapped around, sneaking through bushes to get a good look at what had scared the tiny girl. He saw it, and then he couldn't control his laughter.

It was a bunny demon. The girl cringed up against a tree as the bunny demon, a little fluffy thing with red eyes and fangs, hopped along its merry way.

Paul couldn't believe the stupid, troublesome girl was scared of a _bunny_ demon. He could kill one of those in his sleep.

Dawn, somehow gaining her confidence, lifted a shaking hand at the bunny. Paul was laughing so hard his stomach hurt. Thank god she couldn't see him.

Mid-laugh, all the air went out of the forest, and Paul was left chocking. Dawn wasn't laughing. And neither was the bunny. _It_ was fine.

Paul, on the other hand, was not. He fell to the ground, clutching his throat and praying that the air came back soon.

Did _she_ do this? That little troublesome thing? Did she take all the air out of the forest? Could she do that?

As if hearing his prayers, the air flew back into Paul's lungs.

Snake demons were not meant to go without air, Paul decided as he stood up and dusted himself off. He looked around and pushed his hair off his face.

"Stupid, troublesome girl." He muttered, shaking out his hair again.

Dawn was, at the same time, talking to the bunny. "Why didn't you die, you stupid demon?" Paul glanced through the hedges to see Dawn hovering over the bunny with a scowl on her face and her hands balled up on her hips. She looked so much like a child Paul let out another laugh.

She must have heard him, that time, because Dawn looked around, away from the bunny, for a brief moment. A look of confusion dwelled on her face for a second or two before she looked back down at the bunny.

"You're a stupid bunny. Why won't you _die_?"

Paul wanted to laugh again, but held it in. _Talking to it won't help. _He snickered, _just kill it. _

"This is impossible." Dawn groaned. She slid to the grass and sat cross-legged, staring at the bunny as it hopped about. "You're a stupid bunny."

Paul was getting sick of her complaining. Now he was kind of hoping she would shut up.

"Die, bunny, die." She was _singing_, now. Singing at the bunny to die. Now Paul was just getting pissed. This wasn't funny anymore. The damned girl couldn't even kill a _demon bunny_. How in the world has she survived for this long?

Paul decided he was going to put himself – and the bunny – out of his misery. Quickly and silently, Paul shot venomous daggers at the bunny.

One, two, three. It was dead.

Dawn shrieked again, and Paul regretted killing the bunny. He did it to shut her up and she just got louder. There was no way to win.

"Troublesome girl." Paul grumbled, standing up.

"It died!" She yelled, jumping up and down. "It's dead! Yes! Finally! Dead, dead, dead, dead! This calls for a celebration!" She giggled and ran out of the forest, cheering "Dead, dead, dead!" all the way.

Paul hoped she ran into some hikers. He hoped she shouted that phrase for the rest of her trip home. That would be a funny situation to explain. Thinking of the troublesome girl being stupid enough to run into hikers made Paul laugh. He laughed the whole way home.

But he still hadn't cured his obsession.

* * *

He wasn't the only one obsessed. Leaf was obsessed with killing Gary. She had stalked him for the past three days, looking for the perfect opportunity.

She found it on a Saturday. The demon scent tickled her down her spine as she sat on her back porch, reading.

Not just any old demon scent. _His_ demon scent.

Leaf dropped her book, not bothering to bookmark her page. She jumped off her seat and started running.

Leaf lived by the forest. Her backyard was a hop, skip, and a jump over a fence right into the woods. Her parents always freaked out over bears or wild bunnies coming to their yard, which always made Leaf laugh.

If they only knew…well, she'd never allowed out of her room.

Leaf grabbed the fence easily with her hand, using her powers to lift the ground beneath her high enough that she didn't have to do any work.

One giant step and a perfect landing, and Leaf was in the forest.

She lifted her nose in the air, taking a smell. He was close.

Leaf fumbled for her dagger, which she kept with her at all times. He was so close…

"Looking for someone?"

Leaf gasped, spinning around just in time to be grabbed by two very large hands and thrown to the ground.

"Demon!" Leaf shouted, throwing her arms up. The ground below her pushed her back up, so she was standing upright, facing the demon.

He was a cute demon, Leaf would give him that. No wonder he had all those innocent girls fawning over him.

"Priestess." The demon regarded Leaf in a much cooler, arrogant manner. Leaf's blood steamed.

"It's time to die." She said, and they began circling each other, waiting for one to make the first move.

"Oh, a priestess with a dagger and some earth powers, I'm so afraid." Gary laughed, throwing his head back. Leaf didn't think she could get any madder, but she did.

She threw her hands away from each other, and the ground below the demon split.

He was fast, too. One second the demon was on the trembling ground, and the next he was in a nearby tree. Leaf hadn't even seen him move.

She cursed him not so quietly. The demon laughed again and jumped to the next tree.

Now it was her chasing him. This was getting ridiculous. Leaf sighed and uprooted a few trees. But the demon was much too fast for her. Just as she threw one tree to the ground, he was on another.

"Come back and fight, you coward!" Leaf yelled, as the demon quickened its pace.

And then he was right in front of her, breathing down her neck. "Do you know a thing about fox demons?" He asked. Leaf was frozen. The demon circled her closely, touching her face. His fingers were soft. Leaf's eyelids fluttered.

_Don't listen to him! _Leaf's subconscious warned her, _it's magic! _

His strong fingers trailed along her face to her hair, slowly lifting it and then letting it fall, strand by strand.

Leaf let out a sigh.

He was then tracing her collarbone, all too close for comfort. Leaf felt her eyelids closing.

_KILL HIM! _

And then there was a knife in his stomach.

The demon's eyes were wide in shock. "Oh, god." He whispered. But then, a few seconds later, he laughed.

Slowly, he gripped the handle on the knife. "Ouch!" He dropped it like it was fire and stared at the knife in his gut.

"Silver?" He asked, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

Leaf nodded, looking quite pleased.

"I hate you." He shook his head, "Really, really hate you right now." Then, the demon smiled, "But then again, I have a knife in my stomach, and you don't have anything to fight me with. You should have aimed higher." The demon tapped his heart, though it almost looked like the gesture pained him, "My stomach won't kill me."

"But it will slow you down." Leaf countered. She was actually internally kicking herself for her poor aim. It was inches – inches! – away from his heart. Really? She missed by _inches_?

The demon decided to take advantage of the situation.

He leaned down, and got extremely close to Leaf's neck before she pushed him away.

"Stay. Away. From. Me." She growled.

The demon shrugged, "You were the one who came looking for a fight." He laughed, but then stopped and looking pointedly down at the dagger. "This thing is becoming a nuisance."

"That's the point." Leaf flipped her long hair in a boastful manner.

"So you stabbed me in my stomach on _purpose_." The demon clarified, raising an eyebrow.

Leaf looked at the ground, not sure whether telling the truth or lying was a better option.

She decided that lying was. "Yes. Of course. I have a more painful way of killing you."

"More painful than silver? Okay. Hit me with it." The demon obviously didn't believe her. Leaf cursed her horrible lying skills, and then threw some rocks at him.

Even with the silver dagger in his stomach, the demon moved surprisingly quickly. One second he was on a tree, the next he was breathing his magic in her ear.

"We fox demons are abnormally fast." His hot breath tickled her ear, "Even for demons."

And then he was gone.

Leaf turned in circles for a few moments before she heard the voice again. "We are unnaturally cunning."

Gone again. Leaf was getting annoyed. She tensed for the neck whispering, but when she turned around, he was right there.

Right in front of her.

"And we have magic." His teeth were then in her throat. The magic coursed through Leaf's veins.

She felt lightheaded, and she fell forward into Gary's arms. The demon caught her, planting a kiss on her cheek as she fell.

* * *

The game had been going on for weeks, now. _Too long, _May decided as she braced herself against a tree,_ I should just kill him already. _But May was having…fun. Fun with a demon. May snorted. She wouldn't tell her friends. She _couldn't_ tell her friends. Having fun with a demon? That was ridiculous. May felt his presence. She jumped at Drew from behind the tree.

The fire caught on Drew's clothes, but he put it out quickly enough. She jumped at him, ready to completely flame him and have the battle be over once and for all, but he caught her around the waist. They fell, laughing, to the floor.

For a moment, May wasn't repulsed by the demon stench.

* * *

The dark man sneered. "I can't smell one." He pounded his fist on his counter. "A demon must have claimed her. Damn him."

"Master…" Lucifer peeked his head through a door, "Master…one of the girls has escaped."

"Lucifer!" the tall, dark figure turned sharply on his heels and then the smaller demon had to duck to dodge the flying object. "You bumbling idiot! Which one?" He grabbed his hand with his head and began massaging it, as if pained greatly.

"Ur…Ur…Ursula, sir." Lucifer quivered as she spoke.

"No." The figure said so quietly he whispered it, "NO!" The sudden change in volume sent Lucifer straight up into the air. "You _idiot_! FIND HER! Find her NOW!"

Lucifer nodded, and ran out of the room.

The figure stared into the darkness. "Stupid priestesses. Now you're all going to die."

From behind the door, muffled screams erupts, reaching an earsplitting volume…louder…louder…louder still. And then, nothing.

The silence was louder than the screams. Even in the darkness, you could see the demon's white smile.

* * *

**OKAY! End of Chapter Five: Under Your Spell! I hope you all liked it!**

**OOOHHH, so, Misty got a pendant from Ash...and now the demon-collector-figure-dude can't smell her...interesting. Paul's obbsessed with Dawn, and Leaf's under Gary's spell. May and Drew still fighting...but is the fight still a fight for death? Or is it just a game? **

**I hope you guys all tune in for Chapter Six! ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MUCH APPREICATED, WHERE YOU THINK THE STORY IS GOING, REVIEW! MAKE SURE TO REVIEW! Check out my polls, and my other stories (The Five Rules of Being Psychic is to be updated on Saturday!) and review! Suggest ideas! Vote for other stories you want me to write! YAY! BUNDLES OF FUN! Okay. I love ALL OF YOU REVIEWERS OUT THERE (and those who don't review, but still read my story!) **

**Love Forever and Always,  
Malibu :D**


	6. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**HEY GUYS! I'm only one day late today! I'm getting better! I actually do have the story pretty much planned out. Only four more chapters, if everything goes according to plan!**

**BIG THANKS TO: Everyone who reviewed, of course. AND Surfergurl who made some suggestions/perdictions that really helped me finish up my plot!**

**THE USUAL CRAP: CHECK OUT MY ONE-SHOT 'The Middle of Nowhere'! It's my first shot (hahaha, get it? It's a joke) at doing a oneshot. So Read and Review! That would make on Happy Malibu! And Check out my other stories! (Please!) And check out my poll! (DOUBLE PLEASE) And REVIEW! Okay. HERE WE GO!**

**Chapter Six: Something Wicked This Way Comes...**

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Six: Something Wicked This Way Comes_

"Are you ready?" Misty swallowed. She grabbed her feather pendant and frowned. "Because I'm not."

"It's gonna be okay!" Ash smiled and kissed her forehead. "No matter what, we stick together."

"I can't do this." Misty turned out of Ash's grasp and tried to leave, but Ash grabbed her hand again and made her stay.

"Mist. We have to do this. It's better that they find out from us." Ash's blue eyes were pleading, "Come on. My friends are going to be the hardest, so you're kind of lucky."

"Fine." Misty brushed her hair back, and then stood up tall, "Let's do this."

She held out her hand and smiled fearfully at Ash. He took her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

Misty opened the door easily and pulled Ash in. Dawn looked up from the counter. Leaf was sprawled out on the couch, while May's head was stuck in the fridge.

"I have an announcement." Misty yelled. Dawn looked up from her magazine, her eyes instantly zeroing in on Ash, and then trailing downward to their interlocked hands. Her mouth fell open. May looked up from the fridge, her mouth full of food. Misty had to tighten her grip on Ash's hand to stop him from running to their fridge. Leaf poked her head over the couch.

"What's up?" She asked, delightfully ignorant.

"You little bitch!" Dawn yelled, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Hear me out –"

"He's a fucking demon!" She pointed, "He's just getting close to you so he can eat you!"

"Wait, what's going on?" May swallowed her food quickly.

"Misty is interloping with the enemy." Dawn snarled, disgusted.

"English, please?" May's bright blue eyes only got more confused.

"Ash and I are dating." Misty explained. "And we're going to keep dating whether you like it or not."

"Are you crazy?" May shouted. She subconsciously rubbed the back of her head, "He's just going to eat you!"

"I would never do that to Misty!" Ash said, looking like he was trying to control the urge to shout.

"That's what _you_ say!" Dawn laughed sarcastically, "But you're the demon here! I don't even want you in my house! Get out!"

"I LOVE HIM!" Misty shouted, "Can't you guys just let me be happy?" Misty, even though one second ago she had been angry, started crying. "I love him. Oh, Mew. I love him."

"Maybe I should go…" Ash rubbed Misty's shoulders, "And let you guys have your little girl talk."

"No. Stay." Misty grabbed his arms as he turned to leave. "If they don't accept us I'm leaving with you." She wiped at her tears, "Guys." She looked up at her friends with pleading eyes, "I love him."

"I think…we should let them be together." Leaf, who hadn't said a word, whispered from the couch. "It doesn't matter who you love. As long as they love you back. And who are we to get in the way of true love?" She smiled quietly at Misty. Misty smiled through her tears.

Dawn's face relaxed a bit. "It is a bit like a forbidden love…" she smiled dreamily, "And those are my favorite romances…alright. I'm sorry Mist." She reached out to Misty with a hug.

Misty crossed the room and ran into Dawn's arms. The tears flowed down her cheeks once more.

Leaf jumped of the couch and ran to join the hug. May dropped her food and shrugged. She crawled beneath the layers and layers of arms.

The hug broke up and Misty wiped her eyes, checking her reflection in the countertop for smudged makeup.

Ash stood awkwardly by the door. You could see in Dawn's eyes that she still didn't trust him. She guardedly walked back to magazine. Every once in a while she would look back up and make sure he hadn't moved.

May looked at Ash.

Ash looked at May.

"Want some food?" She asked.

Just like that, Ash was May's best friend.

Leaf returned quietly to her couch. She had been out of sorts lately, not exactly acting like herself. She would forget things, and it seemed like everything was hazy, like there was some kind of fog blocking her thought process.

She looked up at the two lovebirds. Ash was chewing on something and trying to tell a joke at the same time. Misty had a look of disgust on her face. Dawn was giving Misty a look like '_this_ is who you chose?'

At least they were happy.

* * *

Telling the demons was a lot harder. Ash went alone. Misty waited in the car. There were sounds of muffled screaming coming from the house, but Misty was told that _no matter what_, she was _to stay in the car_. It wasn't really in her nature to obey orders, but Ash had looked so dead serious when he said it, she couldn't help but comply.

There was a squawk, louder than thunder that shuddered through the house. Misty looked up in confusion.

_Oh, right._ She reminded herself, _I'm in love with a demon._

She fingered her feather pendant. _In love_. When she yelled the words at Dawn, it was the first time she admitted it. But it was true. She was in love with Ash. Dangerously so.

Ash came stumbling out of the house.

Did he love her back? She wondered. Her heart hammered in her chest. Oh, god. She hadn't even told him she loved him. She had shouted it at Dawn. How awkward. Great. Now she looked like an idiot.

"Well, that went better then I thought I would." Ash got in the car. "All's okay in the world."

He was bleeding. His forehead had a scratch on it.

"You're bleeding," Misty said lamely. She rummaged through the car to find a Band-Aid, but only came up with a napkin. Good enough.

"It's fine." Ash pushed her off, "It'll heal in a few minutes."

"What happened?" She asked, dropping the napkin. She kept her eyes on the cut, which was growing smaller by the second.

"I told them, they got all pissed on how the mission was to eat you guys, not to fall in love."

Misty was going to wince at the 'eat you guys' part, but she got distracted by the word '_love_'.

Did he love her too?

"And then what?"

"We got in a fight, but I won. So, I can stay with you. And you're still wearing your pendant, right?"

"Right." Misty held it up to show him.

"Good." He leaned forward to kiss her, but stopped. "I…er…I love you, Mist."

Not exactly the kind of moment she had been hoping for, Misty bit her lip. But then again, she had kind of already ruined the whole 'moment' thing.

She smiled, "I love you too."

Misty flung her arms around Ash's neck and kissed him.

Okay, maybe it _was_ the kind of moment she was hoping for.

* * *

The only thing Leaf remembered about Monday was getting up. The next thing she knew she was sitting in her car in her driveway at home.

Yes, it was the kind of day Leaf had always hoped for. School passing by so fast it was practically a blur, but she didn't remember a _thing_.

She didn't even remember if she had gone to school. Maybe she had sat in her driveway for eight hours.

But that was insane! She had to have gone to school!

Leaf picked up her cell phone and called May, just to make sure.

"Hey! May here!" May's cheery voice came through the speaker.

"Did I go to school today?" Leaf asked.

There was a moment of pause, "Yeah, of course. But you were acting really weirdly. Are you okay?" May's voice was filled with concern.

"I…I…I actually don't remember anything that happened at school today."

"What?"

"I remember getting up and getting dressed and stuff like that. But that's it. The next thing I know I'm in my drive way at home. Nothing in between."

May laughed, "That bad a day, huh?"

"I'm serious." Leaf said sharply, rubbing her forehead, "I don't remember _shit_."

"Oh." May's voice was quiet, "Maybe you need to rest, or something."

"Yeah." Leaf liked that idea, "I'll go rest. I'm probably just tired."

"Feel better, okay, Leaf?" May's voice made it sound like a promise.

"I will. Thanks, May."

"No problem! See you later!" May hung up before Leaf had the chance to say goodbye.

She went upstairs, lay down on her bed, and closed her eyes.

When she woke up again, she didn't remember getting out of her car.

* * *

Gary ran his hand through his hair. "It's nice of you to finally show up." He smiled his player grin. The one that made girls weak in the knees.

"I'm here now." Leaf leaned forward and kissed him. Gary smiled against her lips.

He trailed little kisses across her cheek, down her jaw and onto her neck. Leaf tied her fingers in his hair.

He bit down, restocking the magic.

Leaf let out a little moan. She pulled his lips back to hers.

For a second, Gary felt guilty.

He had the priestess in his grasp. The one who got away, under his thumb in his little game. But as he pulled away and looked at her beautiful face – the one he had been itching to devour since he first laid eyes on her – he realized he couldn't do it. Her usually fiery green eyes were…hazy. They were clouded by the effects of his spell.

He'd never felt guilty about things like that before.

Never.

What was this stupid little priestess doing to him?

"Gary?" Leaf asked, her voice vacant. She wasn't doing this. It was the spell. Gary flinched as if someone had punched him in the gut.

He had her.

Why wasn't he happy?

He looked at her eyes again, clouded over with haze, and had to look away.

* * *

Drew watched May from his tree. He was planning on attacking her, but she hadn't noticed him so he leaned against the tree and watched her walk.

She was beautiful.

Wait. Where did that thought come from? Drew shook his head, but the thought wouldn't leave.

She was beautiful and strong willed and amazing.

The game wasn't a game anymore. He didn't want to play.

He didn't want to mess around.

Straight and true was the fastest way to get what you wanted.

He didn't attack her. He jumped from his tree and left, the thoughts still locked in his head.

Drew was a demon who knew what he wanted.

* * *

Ursula could sense the other priestesses. She knew they were close. Quickly, she ducked through the forest to civilization.

Free. She breathed, hoping over the fence.

The priestess screamed.

Ursula was sure she was a sight to see, covered in blood and mud and wearing torn, batter clothes.

"Shut up!" Ursula whispered in a sharp tone, "Be quiet! I'm a priestess too! Calm down."

The girl tilted her head, so her blue hair fell over her shoulders. "How do you know I'm a priestess?"

"Because I'm one too." Ursula smirked, "I guess your powers aren't strong enough yet. I'm surprised you've survived this long."

The blue haired priestess stood up, offended, "I am a very strong priestess! Who are you, anyway? And why do you look like you've been to hell and back?"

Ursula smiled. "That's because I have."

* * *

"Go over it again." Misty paced in front of Ursula. "_Who's_ coming?"

Ursula was actually kind of pretty when she was cleaned up. Her short pink hair fell in big curls to her shoulders and she had bright pink eyes. She watched Misty pace.

"A demon. A very strong demon. Stronger than any demon you've been eloping with."

Misty glared at Ursula. "What?"

"I can smell the demon all over you. It's disgusting." Ursula sneered.

"Leave my personal matters out of this!" Misty flushed bright red and quickly brushed away the subject, "This demon, what's his name?"

"I don't know. I think it's…Giovanni or something. He was careful not to tell anyone of us it."

"And what does he do?"

"He captures priestesses and devours them. That's why he's so strong. But…he's also kind of obsessive of it. He finds it like some kind of a game…and he _collects_ priestesses. There were dozens of us, all chained and locked up, waiting and wondering which one he was going to kill next. I think he was saving me for last, because I was the strongest priestess he had."

Dawn was itching to slap Ursula. She hated her. Popping in her backyard like some kind of a wild animal. Who the hell _did_ that?

"How do we know we can trust you?" Dawn stood, glowering at Ursula.

"Would I lie to you about something like that? If it wasn't true, why would I waste my time telling you? We're priestesses! It's our job to protect ourselves and others from creatures like _that_."

"Fine." Dawn huffed, "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Protect yourselves. Be careful. Be on your guard at all times. He's coming for you."

* * *

**EXCITING! Okay, just a side not the part with Gary and Leaf happened when she 'fell asleep'. I know it's really not clear, but I didn't want to interupt the flow of the story to point it out. **

**MAKE SURE TO REVIEW! And check out my poll! And my other stories! And Surfergurl's contest! And my Oneshot, the Middle of Nowhere (and tell me what you think!)**

**AND REVIEW!**

**I think that's all I have to say...**

**Love forever and always,**

**Malibu :D**


	7. Falling to Pieces

**HERE I AM, FACE TO FACE, WITH A SITUATION I NEVER THOUGHT I'D EVER SEE...STRANGE. HOW A DRESS, CAN TAKE A MESS, AND MAKE HER NOTHING LESS THAN...BEAUTIFUL TO ME! IT SEEMS LIKE MY EVYES HAVE BEEN TRANSFIGURED, SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE HAS CHANGED. TAKE A DEEP BREATH, BUT HOLD THAT TRIGGERRRRR. THIS COULD MEAN...DAANNNGGEEERRRR. Sorry, guys. I felt like singin. AVPM, anyone? I know you love it. I know there are other freaks out there. ;D. ANYWAY, I know I'm late, but BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! **

**Hey, guys. HEY. MAKE SURE TO CHCKE OUT MY POLL! PLEASE! Now that Maidens of the Realms is wrapping up, I want to start a new story, and I wanna know which one you readers want me to start! SO MAKE SURE TO VOTE! (PPPLLLEEAASSEE!) AND REVIEW! (OH, ALSO make sure to PM me if you have any ideas you think are good for any of my stories-in-the-making! I LOVE TO HEAR IDEAS/FEEDBACK! So...yeah. PM me and you'll get this nice thing called 'credit' for helping me ;D. IDEAS ARE *ALWAYS* appricated...(does it sound like I can't think up my own stories or WHAT. HA! LOVE YOU ALL))**

**KAY! PLEASE ENJOY CHAPTER SEVEN: FALLLING TO PIECES!**

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Seven: Falling to Pieces_

Ursula decided she had better things to do than stick around and fight off a demon. She left the next day.

Dawn couldn't have been happier.

The other girls tried to squeeze as much information out of her before she left, but Ursula remained silent.

"Just get out of town. Leave. He's too strong. Run." Ursula's advice sucked, Dawn concluded. She didn't want to run. She wanted to face the challenge head on, and kill the jerk.

She wanted him dead.

Ursula was only in her way. Dawn was glad she left.

* * *

Giovanni sniffed the air, his black wings stretching. "Yes. I can smell it. Still only three, but they smell glorious. Fully ripe. Very powerful."

"Should I track them, Master?" Lucifer shook as he spoke.

"No, no. I want to find these girls. Let's go, Lucifer." Giovanni began walking. The earth seemed to quake underneath his feet.

"Y-yes, Master." Lucifer followed his master quickly.

Giovanni sniffed the air again, and then quickly changed paths. Lucifer almost fell over trying to keep up.

Lucifer had to jump to avoid a car with a pretty, reckless girl at the wheel. She glared at him as she swerved the car, looking angry. "Ever heard of a cross walk, jerk?" She yelled out the window, preceding to make an obscene gesture with her finger. Lucifer glared back at the car speeding away, ready to attack.

Giovanni placed his hand in front of Lucifer, "Not her, Lucifer. She's not worth our troubles."

Lucifer made his own gesture at the car that was already out of sight, and then turned back to Giovanni. "Yes, Master." He sighed, following his master into a hell unknown to most demons.

High School.

A couple of giggly girls stared at Lucifer and Giovanni and grew silent.

"What a creep." One girl whispered to another. The group erupted in uncomfortable giggles, and watched Giovanni with one eye to make sure he was out of sight.

"Stupid humans." Giovanni didn't give the girls so much as a second glance. His goal was set.

He found her. The first priestess. There she was, obviously beautiful, obviously powerful. He lifted his nose in the air and breathed in her perfect, priestess scent.

She looked at him, her cobalt eyes locking with his for mere seconds. And then she was his prey.

The bluenette timidly brushed her hair over her shoulder and quickened her pace. Giovanni's lips stretched into a smirk. She couldn't smell him, but she sensed something off about him.

He liked a smart prey.

The girl suddenly turned around, no longer timid, and met Giovanni's gaze once more. Her eyes were sharp, strong, and her gaze could burn a hole through steel. Giovanni met her gaze with equal intensity, but inside he was actually surprised.

He had never met a prey that showed so much ferocity.

A person passed in between their gaze, and in the next moment, the priestess was gone.

"Call off the search for the other girls." Giovanni turned to Lucifer, "I only want one."

"Only one, Master?" Lucifer asked in confusion, "But there are at least three here!"

"No. Only one. The blue haired one. She's the only one I want. I believe she is going to be a…difficult hunt."

"Alright, Master. If you say so." Lucifer scratched his head, "When do we start the hunt?"

"Tonight." Giovanni turned on his heels and left the campus.

* * *

Paul couldn't help overhearing the demon. Why he didn't kill him right on the spot was beyond him. Paul wanted to rip that stupid demon's head off the moment he saw him look at Dawn.

Why did that make him so angry?

It wasn't like he liked her or anything. He wanted to eat her himself. Yeah, that was it. Dawn was his meal.

Only, if she was his meal, he would have eaten her earlier. He had had so many opportunities to do so. Why hadn't he taken any of them?

And the idea of that vile demon even laying a _finger_ on Dawn made Paul want to kill him in the most painful way possible.

Not because he wanted to eat her.

No.

The realization made Paul's knees feel weak. He needed to sit down. Not because he wanted to eat her…because he _loved_ her.

Paul would be the last one to admit to loving a priestess. Yet here he was, sitting on the sidewalk outside of school, admitting to himself that he was in love (_in love_) with Dawn. The troublesome, meddling, stupid priestess.

He had to warn her. He had to save her. He had to tell her how he felt.

No, he couldn't do that.

But he had to protect her.

Not even thinking, Paul jumped up and started running. He followed her scent, like he had so many times before, into the forest.

She was waiting for him.

Dawn stood, in all her glory, arms crossed and leaning against a tree. "I was wondering when you'd show up." Dawn pushed herself off the tree with her foot.

"Dawn…" Paul was dumbfounded. What did she know? Did she know how he felt…?

"Don't think I don't know you've been stalking me for the past month. You creep! You think I can't kill a stupid bunny demon? That I need your help? Is that what you think? That the little, harmless priestess can't do anything by herself?"

The air flew out of the room like it had so many times before. Dawn glowered over Paul as he fell to his knees, clutching his throat.

"Just leave me alone, thanks. I don't like being stalked."

"You…in…danger…Dawn..." Paul tried to choke out the message before he fainted or something.

"You think I don't know that?" Dawn laughed, "Some priestess came earlier and told me. That's old news. I'm not worried. I can take him."

"Can't…take…bunny demon." Paul clawed at the ground, forcing the words out. He needed air, and he needed it _now_.

"Oh, Mew, _really_? I could take a bunny demon in my sleep! I just wanted to see what you would do if you though I couldn't kill it. You didn't do what I though you would do, though. So, there's something seriously wrong with you."

"Air!" Paul begged.

Dawn let out a sigh, and suddenly air filled Paul's lungs. He gasped and coughed and savored every breath he took.

"Just leave me alone. I'm not looking for trouble, and I'm not looking to kill you. I've got bigger things to worry about." Dawn looked at Paul, still sprawled on the ground, and shook her head, "And you say I'm the troublesome one."

She walked away laughing.

She seemed to take all the air away with her. Paul couldn't breathe again, but this time, it felt good.

* * *

May tilted her head, assessing the area. She hadn't seen Drew in a while. Usually they fought every day, but they hadn't for the past week. May was starting to get suspicious. Really suspicious.

She was on hyper drive, scared for her life. What if the game had become a death game again? What if Drew was gone because he was planning? Planning her death. Oh, Mew.

May looked over her shoulder for the fifth time since she had started walking home.

Still nothing.

Silence.

May crossed her arms over her chest and kept walking.

She was actually kind of disappointed. She…_liked_ fighting Drew. Who the hell did he think he was, suddenly dropping out of their fights? The more May thought about it, the angrier she got.

How dare her leave her hanging like this?

Suddenly, a movement made May stop short. She raised her hands, ready for a battle, but all she saw was a simple rose, tied with a note, laying on the ground in front of her.

Peering around to make sure it wasn't a trap, May bent down to pick up the flower.

Still nothing. May ripped off the note and opened it, admiring the beauty of the rose idly.

_May,  
__The game is over. You've won. You'll always win.  
__Love,  
__Drew_

May dropped the note like it was poison. "No." She muttered, placing her hand over her mouth and shaking her head, "No."

He couldn't.

He couldn't _love_ her.

He just _couldn't_.

And she couldn't love him. He was a demon. She was a priestess. It was basic laws of nature. The two kinds just didn't mix. Forbidden love.

First Misty broke the law that kept their two worlds in order, and now Drew. What was wrong here? She wasn't going to break that rule. She was going to keep it in tact. May was going to restore balance.

She didn't love him.

She couldn't love him.

May refused to love him.

The game was not over. Not yet. Not until blood was spilt. And it was not going to be her blood.

Drew had one thing right. May was going to win the game. And he was going to die.

May regretted ever letting him live. If she had killed him, this whole situation could have been avoided. She had so many opportunities to kill him. Now, she only had one. Death. Drew was going to die.

Just like demons should.

May left the rose and the note to rot on the school sidewalk. She didn't look back. Do or die.

* * *

Leaf was lying on Gary's bed; her head lolled to one side and her eyes that ever-hazy green. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She appeared to be singing to herself.

Gary sat in the chair at his desk, turning ever so slowly. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't live like this.

Somehow, deep in the dark corner of magic Gary had backed himself into, he had fallen for Leaf. Maybe even before that. Because he couldn't stand what he had done to her, made her some mindless slave of his. He hated himself. He hated the world. He hated that he was demon, and that he couldn't be with her.

He wasn't good for her.

He wanted to let her go, to take all the magic out of her body…but if he did that, he'd lose her.

And he had worked so hard to get her.

_But not like this, _Gary reminded himself as he peered at Leaf, _I never wanted her like this. _

If he let her go, she wouldn't remember a thing. She wouldn't remember any of the "moments" they'd shared together. The only thing she would remember was that Gary was a demon and she was a priestess and priestesses kill demons.

She wouldn't hesitate. Just kill.

But maybe that was worth it. Life wasn't worth living if Leaf was a vegetable. Life wasn't worth it if he couldn't have her.

Gary ran his hand through his hair and got out of his chair. Leaf's lips were still moving in that wordless song, but Gary leaned down and kissed her anyway.

He had decided what he was going to do. A kiss goodbye was all he needed.

* * *

**I think this is deep. I think this is really deep. LOL JK, but I'm really proud of this chapter. Chapter Eight is gonna be REALLY good, too. Anyone wanna guess what happens? Super Cookies for anyone who's close! I'll give you a hint: It's called The Trouble Begins. So it's gonna be...trouble-y.(Oh, look, my computer's being sane down here...thanks computer...) **

**I feel like having fun. I'm gonna put a quote in, and you guys are gonna guess it! HERE WE GO: "For every to, there is a fro, for every stop there is a go and that's what makes the world go round." It's from Disney. That's a hint...and here's another: "What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula!" AND ONE MORE, "WHOOOAAA! Ten thousand years will give you SUCH A CRICK IN THE NECK!" Okay, get all three and I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER! Unless you google it...then you're just lame. LOL JK that's how I figure everything out!**

**OKAY! LOVE YOU ALL! MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY POLL (MAJOR PLEASE!) and my other stories! AND REIVEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Kay thanks. **

**Love forever and always, **

**MALIBU!  
**


	8. The Trouble Begins

**Hey guys! Remember when I said I'd update every Wednesday? I lied! Because I'm a big, fat liar. BUT, I'm updating now (hey, look, it's Wednesday!) with chapter Eight! The much-anticipated chapter, I'm sure. **

**I'm really proud of it, considering I couldn't write past the first few lines and I finished - and edited it - today! I was on a roll! So, yeah. Sowwy for being late. I wuv you! I weally do! **

**So yeah, make sure to reivew! (PLEASE!) and check out my other stories (The Five Rules of Being Psychic is to be updated possibly Friday but maybe not but it's usually updated every Saturday unless I get lazy or stupid or busy!) And Check out my poll! (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!) And check out Surfergurl14's Contest! **

**Yeah. OH! Thanks to everyone who guessed my little quotes! I would list your names, but I just want to get this chapter UP, soo THANKS! YOU GUYS ROCK! The quotes were from 1. The Sword and the Stone 2. The Lion King 3. Aladdin. SO IF YOU GOT IT RIGHT TAKE A COOKIE! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! **

**Here we go! Chapter Eight: The Trouble Begins! Two Chapters Left! **

* * *

_~Maidens of the Realms~_

_Chapter Eight: The Trouble Begins_

May didn't waste any time. Do or die. She kept repeating the words to herself over and over again. Do or die. Do or die.

She grabbed a silver dagger off her dresser. "Do or die." She murmured the words to herself as she traced the dagger's sharp tip with her finger. "It's not a game anymore."

For some reason, in the back of her mind, May almost _didn't_ want to kill Drew. She wanted him to live. But that tiny part of her brain was overpowered, bullied into submission, by the other, stronger parts of her brain. The parts that rejected the logic that Drew had left in that note.

The note that made her squeamish just thinking about.

She set out to go find Drew, placing the dagger in the sheath attached to her waist.

Do or die.

* * *

She found Drew in the forest, staring at her as she approached, waiting for her. So much for a sneak attack. He tilted his head when he saw her and the harsh look on her face.

"So, I see you got my note." He said simply.

May nodded, watching him as he watched her.

"You didn't like it." Drew stated flatly.

May shook her head.

"Well." Drew jumped down from the tree branch he had been perched on, wings stretching for a second as he floated to the ground. "It was worth a shot, don't you think?"

May kept watching him in stony silence. Drew rolled his eyes, stretching his wings again. "Okay, maybe it _wasn't_ worth the shot. Are you just going to stand there and stare at me? Because I feel like I'm having a one-sided conversation."

May unsheathed her dagger.

Drew's eyes grew very wide in recognition of what was going to happen.

"Gotcha. You really didn't like the note, huh?" His mocking tone was still in place, May noticed, even though he was fully aware of the fact that he was going to die.

He was going to die at May's hand.

"I thought it was actually very heartfelt, considering I wrote it from the heart." Drew continued rambling, as if he could stall May for more seconds of his life.

"You have no heart." May retorted. Her voice was cold, icy, and sounded foreign even to her.

Who was this girl?

"Oh, it speaks!" Drew grinned his cocky grin, taking a step toward her, "And that's not a very kind thing to say to a boy professing his lo-"

Drew didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, for May had charged at him, tackling him without a struggle and pinning him to the ground.

"I'm not going to fight back." Drew whispered, staring right into May's soul. That is what she felt, when she looked him right in the eye, that he could see all the way down into the deep depths and under workings of her soul. Like he knew every twist and turn and secret.

It unnerved her.

"Of course you're not, coward." May hissed back, "Which will make it so much easier for me to kill you."

May held the dagger to his throat. This was it. This was the end of him.

"I meant it." Drew didn't move from under her. Nothing happened. He simply stated the words that changed May's life, "I meant every word. I lov-"

"No!" May yelled. She pressed the dagger closer to this throat, drawing blood. Drew didn't as much as flinch. He stared at her wit his too-green eyes and waited to die. "Don't say that! Don't say it!"

"Just kill me." Drew whispered harshly, "Just end it. I don't care. If I can't have you, life's not worth living."

"Don't say that!" May sounded hysteric now, "Stop!"

"May." Drew's voice was soothing, almost.

She rolled off of him, pulling her dagger off his throat. "I can't do it." She looked at the blood, his blood, his demon blood, on the dagger, "I can't do it. Why can't I kill you?"

"Maybe," the demon sat up, so he was inches away from May, "Because you love me, too."

He didn't give her time to respond. He leaned over and kissed her,

May didn't think. It wasn't priestess and demon. It wasn't two people who hated each other. It wasn't complicated. It wasn't hatred. It was just May and Drew. It was just love. Simple as that.

* * *

"What just happened?" May asked, leaning against Drew's shoulder, "What did I just do?"

Drew rubbed his neck, which had stopped bleeding and now held a pink puckered line the length of May's dagger, "You kissed me." Drew sounded cocky as he looked at May triumphantly.

"I realize." May rolled her eyes, "But what are we, now?"

"Well, we're together." Drew grabbed May's hand, "It took you long enough."

"I still think I should have killed you." May kissed Drew on his cheek, "Sorry about the cut, by the way."

"Battle scars." Drew shrugged, "Love scars."

"You're a dork." May nudged him with her shoulder.

"A dork in love." Drew answered. He leaned over to kiss her again, but May pulled back.

"What's going to happen, you know, from here on out?"

"Well, I'm going to kiss you, so you need to stop moving back."

"No, seriously, Drew." May pushed him off, even though she was smiling, "What's going to happen between us? You're a demon. I'm a priestess. This isn't supposed to happen."

"So what? I love you. You love me. That's it. That's all we need to know. But I'm gonna kiss you now."

May smiled. She liked the sound of that. She liked it a lot.

Drew kissed her, and May met him eagerly.

This was nice. It felt right. Still, there was the tingle of his demon smell filling her nostrils.

* * *

Gary didn't want to do this any more than he wanted to cross holy grounds or deal with a monk with demon-banishing scrolls at the ready. But he had to. He had to save her, because he couldn't live with himself if he didn't.

Leaf was standing still, her eyes closed, swaying with the breeze. Her mouth was open (she appeared to be singing to herself again) and Gary was once gain stunned at her beauty.

It was what had first attracted him to her, of course, but it was overwhelming. The strands of her light brown hair that she constantly had to push out of her face, those mesmerizing green eyes, the curve of her body, the knit between her brows she got when she was confused, the soft pink of her lips. No doubt about it, Leaf Green was gorgeous.

But she was so much more than that. She was smart and fiery and strong and independent and gutsy and quick-tongued and flirtatious and scandalous and so much more.

He loved her. He loved her more than he loved himself – and that was saying something – and he loved that fiery look she had in her eyes when she wasn't under his spell.

So he had to do it. He had to save her, to save himself.

Gary crossed the space between them, kissing Leaf lightly on the lips before trailing down to her neck.

"I love you." He whispered, his mouth on her throat. Leaf didn't respond, but she swayed a little. With a sigh, Gary bit Leaf, but this time instead of letting his magic flow, he sucked it all back up, and then he took a step back.

Leaf blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Leaf?" Gary asked, hopeful. Maybe she did remember. Maybe –

Gary's thoughts were interrupted by Leaf's palm colliding with his face. "Demon!" She screamed. The look was back, that fiery, perfect look, and for a second Gary thought he would never be happier. That he would be alright, just as long as she kept looking at him like that.

But then she was turning. She was turning to leave and take that look with her.

"Leaf!" Gary called. He reached out to grab for her, but she was gone.

* * *

Sometimes, Misty liked to walk alone. It wasn't very smart, her being a priestess and everything, but she liked to do it. Especially at night, when the stars were out and the world seemed like a different place.

She didn't walk anywhere dangerous, like dark alleys or the forest. She walked up and down the suburb streets, straining her eyes to look past their bright lights and on to the stars, placed delicately above.

Sometimes she was happy to gaze at families – normal families, not like she'd ever have one – having dinner or watching TV or sitting at the computer or even having an argument.

She wandered aimlessly, of course, with no set point in mind, but tonight she had wandered somewhere near the forest. Not in the forest, just close to it's entrance.

She was going to turn around and go back, when a figure appeared across the street.

One second, he wasn't there, the next he was. The wind acted in the opposite way, being there one second and the next, vanished.

Now, Misty wasn't perfectly sure, but she did think that there used to be wind and that it was very strange that how this person just showed up and suddenly there was no wind.

Strange.

The person looked at her, his eyes very dark and very chilling, and Misty felt her body go tense. She wasn't sure she would be able to move if she wanted to. _Fear_, Misty decided, _this is true fear._

She couldn't move, and the stranger had noticed her necklace. The one Ash had given her. The one she never took off. He was staring at it with such intensity Misty thought that it might start on fire.

He was drawing closer, still staring, and Misty couldn't move. Fear had seized up all the limbs in her body and turned them to stone.

She had never – ever – been this scared before in her life.

The figure was much too close now, too close for a stranger to be. Misty wanted to run. She was mentally screaming at her legs to run, but they wouldn't listen. And she was sure that if she started running, the stranger would chase.

_Help me! _Misty prayed silently, squeezing her eyes closed, _Please help me! _

And there help was. "Misty!" Ash cried, breaking the spell of the stranger and giving movement back to her limbs, "There you are! I'd been looking all over for you! It's late out; your parents had me promise to get you home before eleven!" He placed his arm around her shoulder. He also grabbed her necklace and dropped it behind the fabric of her shirt. "Hide it." He whispered to her. Louder, he said, "You weren't trying to ditch me, were you? I thought you liked me! Come on, let's go home."

When Misty looked back, the stranger was gone. Vanished, just like he had come. The wind was back, too but there was no scent from the stranger lingering in the air.

"Thank you." Misty whispered, "For saving my life."

"He wouldn't have killed you," Ash said, through gritted teeth, "He couldn't have killed you, because of your necklace. But, you're welcome. Just promise me to be more careful." He looked so tense, it bothered Misty. She really didn't like seeing him in a mood other than happy. The tense, spiteful look on his face now made Misty worry. She tried to make him look happier with a joke.

"What, stay locked up in my room for the rest of my life?" She nudged Ash with her shoulder, trying to get him to smile. It worked.

"That would be preferable, yes." Ash joked.

"I _can_ take care of myself." Misty replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh yes, of course you can, that's why I had to swoop in and save the day." Ash gave her a look and Misty burst out laughing. She uncrossed her arms and wrapped one around his waist, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"Okay, okay. Maybe – sometimes – I need someone to save me."

"Good thing I did, too! I don't know what I'd do with myself if you had been killed." Ash said the statement with such happiness, Misty could only look at her boyfriend like he was mentally unstable.

"What?" Ash asked, looking at her face, "I love you!"

A smile, once again, broke out on Misty's face. She kissed his cheek, "My hero."

* * *

Running, running, running. Forever running.

Dawn wondered how in the world she had gotten herself into this. She had sensed a demon a mile off, a small demon, and had gone to kill it. Like any other day. The guy from before, the one who had been stalking her at school, was totally and completely out of her mind. She didn't think of him as she moved her way into the darkening forest. She thought about Paul, actually.

Paul had been on her mind a lot lately. More than usual. She was still really pissed at him, though. Trying to take care of her. What did he really want? He wanted her for dinner, of course. And that was it. Because he was a demon, and that was what demons did.

They ate priestesses.

That had been his original intent, right? To eat her. But why would he warn her about the other guy? The stalker? Why would he care?

He shouldn't care.

He should have tried to eat her.

But he didn't.

And that confused Dawn. Her mind raced to all the possibilities that Paul could have been thinking of. But none of them made sense. He didn't make sense.

"Stupid demon." Dawn muttered, running her hand through her hair as she tried to focus on the task at hand. "Messing with my mind, that's what he's doing. Look, he's even succeeded in making me talk to myself. God, I am such an idiot."

There was a change in the wind. Dawn's instincts propelled her into hyper-focus mode, all thoughts of Paul draining from her head (well, not all thoughts of Paul). She sniffed the air.

The small, weak, easily killed demon was gone. Like it hadn't even existed in the first place.

Dawn sniffed the air again. It had just…vanished.

The hairs on the back of her neck reacted faster than the rest of Dawn. The wind…stopped. One second it was there, and then it wasn't.

Dawn couldn't smell anything. There was not the slightest hint of a breeze.

If Dawn hadn't thought that something was wrong before, she definitely did now.

Running. That brought Dawn to where she was now. Running, twisting and hiding in the forest from whatever it was that was stalking her.

It was him. She knew it. She just didn't know he was so powerful. So fast. He had been able to hid his scent, making it seem like he was a weak little bunny demon. And he drew her to the forest.

Right into his trap.

Giovanni was coming to get her.

Running, running. Her legs were on fire. But she couldn't stop running. Dawn cursed herself for being so stupid. For being so careless. She was paying the price for that, now.

The wind shifted again, now blowing at her.

The demon was in front of her.

Close, too.

Dawn back tracked, spinning on her heels to get away. Stupid mistake.

The wind shifted again, and she smelt it. Even closer, now. And still right in front of her. The demon was all around her. There was no escape.

Where was Paul when you needed him?

Dawn stopped running, the thought scaring her. Why was that the first thing that popped into her head? Why did she need Paul? She could take care of herself, thank you very much.

She stood her ground as the wind stopped again. Ripped of her sense of smell, Dawn waited with her bravest mask on, for the demon to emerge from the shadows.

She tried to act as if she wasn't scared, but she could not stop her hands from trembling.

"Show yourself!" Dawn was proud of the voice she mustered to shout at the demon. It sounded brave. It sounded strong. _It_ was an act.

"Do you really wish that?" The demon's voice seem to come from all aournd her. Panicked, Dawn walked slowly in a circle. There was a crunching of leaves there, but a snapped twig over here, and the voice – the voice! – it seemed to come from all sides.

Like the demon had engulfed Dawn completely, like she was standing at the eye of the storm.

"S-show yourself!" Without meaning to, Dawn let a quiver out in her voice. The demon's laugh sounded everywhere and yet nowhere, echoing off the trees and ricocheting back and forth in Dawn's head.

She wanted to cover her ears, but that would be showing fear. And fear wasn't going to get her anywhere.

Where was Paul?

Dawn froze again. There it was, again. The thoughts about Paul, coming to save her. Hadn't she just convinced herself that she didn't need Paul, let alone want him, to save her?

Couldn't she save herself?

Apparently not, because the thoughts wouldn't leave. They got worse, louder, as if every particle of her being was begging for Paul to jump out of the sky and fend off the demon.

"Come out and fight!" Dawn bellowed, trying to push the thoughts away, "You can't kill me!"

The demon finally emerged. Right in front of her, as if he had been there all along.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to kill you." The demon's eyes flashed, "I hope."

Dawn didn't believe him. She took a step back and lifted her hand, falling right into his trap.

Two more loyal snake demons wrapped their bodies around her. Dawn screamed, trying to cut off their air supply but not having much luck. Instead of cutting off their air supply, the demons seemed to snake their bodies in just the right way to cut off hers. Dawn gasped for air, fighting against the slimy, slithering bodies of the snakes as they twisted around her.

She tried to scream, but there was no air. No words or sounds escaped her mouth.

"Quite a pity, actually." Giovanni circled her, smiling evilly down at her, "I thought you were going to be a much harder hunt. I might have to catch your little friends, too."

Dawn struggled against her restraints in protest.

_Paul. _Her thoughts whispered, _Please, Paul. _

"That's right." His horrible face twisted, "You and all your friends shall be mine for the taking."

* * *

**Well. I did it. Dawn has been captured. ;D Yes, I am just that evil. **

**So, I'll be seeing you guys soon for chapter nine, I suppose. As so as I write it...that is. I do know what is going to happen, though! Difference may be put aside...just maybe. **

**OKAY! JUST MAKE SURE TO REVIEW! And check out my poll, my other stories, and Surfergurl14's contest! PLEASE! REVIEW! POLL! REVIEW! POLL! REVIEW! POLL! CONTEST! STORIES! REVIEW! POLL! CONTEST! STORIES! **

**Kay thanks. LOVE YOU GUYS! **

**Love forever and always,**

**Malibu :D**


End file.
